Mostly Together

She is a national journalist, a network news anchor, a storyteller, a TED speaker — and someone whose latest chapter is rooted in honesty, resilience, and self-reflection. In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Hena Doba, anchor at NewsNation. Hena was born and raised in Queens as the daughter of Pakistani immigrants, growing up in a low-income neighborhood where no one on television looked like her. Her family imagined one path for her — but her heart kept pulling her toward journalism. What began with a camcorder after 9/11 became the start of a career in storytelling — one that would take Hena from local newsrooms to WFSB in Connecticut, CBS News, Cheddar, and now NewsNation. This conversation lives in the space between public success and private truth. It's about what Hena is learning to own now — the girl from Jackson Heights, the survival skills that shaped her, and the TED Talk that helped her see her childhood, her ambition, and herself in a new way. In this conversation, we talk about: Growing up Pakistani American in Queens Finding her voice after 9/11 Her Connecticut chapter and years at WFSB Building a national career in news The difference between resilience and survival mode Her recent TED Talk, Reckoning Learning to own the parts of your story you once kept hidden Explore Mostly Together — new episodes every Wednesday: 🌐https://www.mostlytogetherpod.com/ 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mostlytogetherpod 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-together/id1871317737 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Q2TPERHFNgnapvuOQJqSx Connect with Nicole: 📲 Instagram & Facebook: @nicolenalepatv 📲 Podcast IG & FB: @mostlytogetherpod Connect with Hena: 📲 Follow Hena on Instagram: @henadoba

He helped turn something the whole country started talking about into art: highway signs, a 9,000-pound monument, a statewide pizza movement — and somehow, it all started with one slice. In this episode of Mostly Together, I sit down with Michael Pollack, the artist behind New Haven Pizza Club, live from the Yale Innovation Summit 2026. Michael is one of the creative forces who helped bring Connecticut's "Pizza Capital of the United States" movement to life visually and culturally — a campaign originally spearheaded by the state's then-chief marketing officer, Anthony Anthony. But Michael's story was never really just about pizza. He became an artist at 40, walked away from the expected path, and turned one of the most universal things in the world into art, community, culture, and a philanthropic movement that has helped raise half a million dollars for families of critically ill children. In this conversation, we talk about: Betting on yourself when the path is uncertain Why the lows can make you stronger than the highs How New Haven pizza became part of a larger cultural movement The role of art, storytelling, and community in giving back Michael's work with Feeding Families Foundation and families facing childhood cancer Why tangible impact matters in philanthropy The power of collaboration, trust, and handshake deals Building momentum without losing the heart behind the work Why the thing that brings us all together might just be a slice Explore Mostly Together — new episodes every Wednesday: 🌐 https://www.mostlytogetherpod.com/ 📺 Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mostlytogetherpod 🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-together/id1871317737 🎧 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Q2TPERHFNgnapvuOQJqSx 📲Connect with Nicole: Instagram & Facebook: @nicolenalepatv Podcast IG & FB: @mostlytogetherpod 📲 Follow Michael on Instagram: @nhvpc 🌐 https://newhavenpizzaclub.com/

Hollywood character actor Don Stroud has lived the kind of life that sounds scripted — except every word of it is real. From surfing in Hawaii to the Sunset Strip, the Whiskey A-Go-Go, Universal Pictures, and more than four decades in film and television, Don's story moves through some of Hollywood's most iconic corners. His credits include Coogan's Bluff and Joe Kidd with Clint Eastwood, The Buddy Holly Story, The Amityville Horror, the James Bond film Licence to Kill, and Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained. But what makes this conversation so powerful is not just the résumé. It's the human being behind it. On this episode of Mostly Together, Don opens up about the unexpected turns that shaped his life: the moment he went from the beach to a Universal Pictures contract, the wild energy of old Hollywood, surviving a plane crash and a violent attack, his struggle with addiction, and the sobriety that helped save his life. With humor, honesty, and a storyteller's soul, Don reflects on fame, survival, reinvention, and why being a working character actor meant more to him than chasing movie-star status. This is a conversation about a life fully lived — the beautiful parts, the brutal parts, and the grace of still being here to tell the story. Explore Mostly Together — new episodes every Wednesday: https://www.mostlytogetherpod.com/ Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@mostlytogetherpod Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-together/id1871317737 Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Q2TPERHFNgnapvuOQJqSx Connect with Nicole: Instagram & Facebook: @nicolenalepatv Podcast IG & FB: @mostlytogetherpod

Jenny Hubbard and I have known each other for several years — first through interviews on my former lifestyle show, then through the Catherine Violet Hubbard Foundation, where I've had the honor of co-emceeing the Butterfly Party alongside Scot Haney. Over time, I've come to know Jenny not just through her story, but through the way she continues to carry it forward. Jenny is a mother, advocate, and the founder of the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary in Newtown, Connecticut. Her life changed forever on December 14, 2012, when she lost her 6-year-old daughter, Catherine, in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. In the years since, Jenny has navigated unimaginable grief — and found a way to build something meaningful in its place. The sanctuary is a space rooted in compassion, connection, and the love Catherine had for animals. Through her work, Jenny continues to honor Catherine's spirit while creating something that brings kindness into the world. Her next book, on forgiveness, arrives this fall. On this episode of Mostly Together, we talk about grief, forgiveness, purpose, and the quiet, ongoing work of healing — and what it looks like to move forward, not by forgetting, but by carrying love differently. In this episode: • How the sanctuary began — in a way no one expected • Why grief is not linear, and never something you "check off" • The difference between forgiveness as a moment…and forgiveness as a practice • How something meaningful can still grow from unimaginable loss • Why vulnerability and sharing our stories matters more than we think Learn more about the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary: 🌐 https://www.cvhfoundation.org/ Instagram: @cvhanimalsanctuary Explore Mostly Together: 🌐 mostlytogetherpod.com 🎧 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/mostly-together/id1871317737 🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3Q2TPERHFNgnapvuOQJqSx?si=093aff84cc6546c9 📺 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR1UBeBQxFdxIQB3xjDfz6A Connect with Nicole: Instagram & Facebook: @nicolenalepatv Podcast IG & FB: @mostlytogetherpod